Topic: US Spousal Immigration Visa ThreadRead 183331 times

Hi all! My wife and I are trying to move to the US early next year and as such, submitted our I-130 packet in July. Trouble is, I am a dummy and didn't realize there was a USCIS office in Seoul, so I mailed it to the USCIS lockbox in America. It's been received and is processing, but I'm extremely worried it's going to delay everything from here on out. Does anyone have any experience with this? Is it reasonable to think we'll be able to leave Korea in early March if we submitted the I-130 on July 17?

Hi all! My wife and I are trying to move to the US early next year and as such, submitted our I-130 packet in July. Trouble is, I am a dummy and didn't realize there was a USCIS office in Seoul, so I mailed it to the USCIS lockbox in America. It's been received and is processing, but I'm extremely worried it's going to delay everything from here on out. Does anyone have any experience with this? Is it reasonable to think we'll be able to leave Korea in early March if we submitted the I-130 on July 17?

Processing time at USCIS lockboxes tend to take significantly longer than Seoul USCIS. Seoul takes several weeks, and I've heard most US lockboxes take at least 4-6 months. Due to some weird timing issues my first I-130 application had to be sent to a lockbox, and if I recall correctly it took around 4-5 months until I heard the result. Assuming similar timing, you could get the approval by November/December. *FYI due to a mistake on my part the I-130 was denied, and we re-started the process with USCIS Seoul, so I can't testify to the second half of the process with USCIS lockbox in terms of timing*

The tricky thing from there is being able to get appointments for the medical check and interview in a timely manner. The medical check can't be done until the I-130 has been approved and there are only three hospitals in Korea it can be done at (2 in Seoul, 1 in Busan). You have to make an appointment (no walk-ins) and I've heard the two in Seoul are quite busy and people have had to wait as long as 3-4 weeks for available slots. We did ours in Busan, and there was just a week wait. Interview appointment scheduling is done by the USCIS office after you complete the online DS-260. Our interview was scheduled approx. for 3 weeks after we completed the DS-260.

Your best bet is to read online and start collecting everything you'll need for packet III (after I-130 approval), so when your I-130 is approved you can fly through the rest of the process as fast as possible. So, can it be done? Possibly, but I think it'll be tight.

Thank you for the excellent information. I am incredibly bummed that I didn't send it to Seoul, but we already have all the paperwork done for packet 3 and I'm not in Seoul anyway so going to Busan for the medical check will be no problem.

You said you had to restart the process. Is this something I could do, as in cancel the current processing and send the I-130 to the Seoul USCIS? I'm guessing the answer might be yes, but I'd have to pay again, which I'm not willing to do.

I checked the average processing time for my center and it's 5 months. That puts my I-130 approval in mid-December. Assuming 1 week for the medical and three for the interview, we'd be done with the interview mid to late January. After the interview, typically how long until you can leave Korea?

EDIT: My wife and I are thinking about withdrawing our first I-130 and refiling in Seoul. I know there's no way to say for sure, but if we file this Friday does our timeline look reasonable to be in America at the beginning of March? I guess what I'm asking is if you had to bet, should we stick with our current processing center or do a changeup?

Can someone absolutely clarify what is needed in order to file the I-130 in Seoul?Because the list given here by some people from 2013 is:

I-130

G-325A (two- one for the immigrant and one for the petitioner)

Two passport type photos

Marriage Certificate

Family Registry--가족관계 증명서

Immigrantsí birth certificate 기본 증명서

Passport Copies- both people

Petitionerís ARC card

Is this still applicable and current? because when I emailed the embassy they referred me to the I-130 instructions which states many other documents (proof of relationship, tax, finances, etc)

Thanks!

I asked the same thing about a month ago and this was the response someone gave:

i-130appointment notice (I printed off when I made the appointment)My ARC 3 years worth of tax documents (you can print them off of irs.gov)G-325A (1 for each)Marriage Certificate with translationCopies of our passports (also take your passport)Passport pictures (2 of each of us)$420 (462,000won)I also gave them the G1145 form which requests them to email you once they process your information (it will take longer for you to get notification if you don't get it by email)

Hi guys!Just to clarify the above post, I just called immigration and asked them about the 3 years worth of taxes mentioned above. You DON'T need tax information for the I-130 application.I was a little confused when I read that, so I thought i would give them a call and ask :)

But as mentioned in other posts, yes you 100% need the tax info for the next step.

Thank you for the excellent information. I am incredibly bummed that I didn't send it to Seoul, but we already have all the paperwork done for packet 3 and I'm not in Seoul anyway so going to Busan for the medical check will be no problem.

You said you had to restart the process. Is this something I could do, as in cancel the current processing and send the I-130 to the Seoul USCIS? I'm guessing the answer might be yes, but I'd have to pay again, which I'm not willing to do.

I checked the average processing time for my center and it's 5 months. That puts my I-130 approval in mid-December. Assuming 1 week for the medical and three for the interview, we'd be done with the interview mid to late January. After the interview, typically how long until you can leave Korea?

EDIT: My wife and I are thinking about withdrawing our first I-130 and refiling in Seoul. I know there's no way to say for sure, but if we file this Friday does our timeline look reasonable to be in America at the beginning of March? I guess what I'm asking is if you had to bet, should we stick with our current processing center or do a changeup?

I'm sure you could cancel your current application and re-apply, but yes you would certainly need to pay the fee again. You would also need to bring any official document showing you cancelled the initial application. (for the record I didn't submit some paperwork so we were officially denied, and then re-applied)

I'd say two weeks for medical if you want for a more "conservative" estimate since after the medical check you have to wait for them to mail you the results (which takes a week or so).

In theory you can leave as soon as you have the passport with the temp. visa in it. Most people here say it takes a week, but ours came literally in two days (interview on Thursday, visa came Saturday morning).

If you absolutely must get out by early March, and you can pay the fees again then re-filing with Seoul would be your best bet, but if you have your ducks lined up it's possible to leave it with the US. However, just for the sake of saying it, 5 months is an AVERAGE time meaning it could be faster or longer. A little longer and it could throw off your timing.

If you have the time it may be a good idea to call USCIS on the phone and talk to someone there about moving the application/cancel/re-apply.

Thanks for the response! I thought from previous posts that we only needed the tax print out of the last year and not three years? Has the information changed?

You need tax info of last three years.

I think it varies to an extent on who looks at the paperwork. Officially the I-864 requires the most recent year's tax transcript with an option to include two further years if you feel it will help you qualify financially. There is also a direction/checklist that says to provide a copy of your most recent 1040 or proof you did not need to file one.

We did our interview last week, and the only thing they took was the copy of the 1040. I gave three years of tax transcripts as well, but they gave them back, and as far as I can tell they were not used.

To be safe, I would recommend bringing all four documents (3 years transcripts and a copy of the 1040 if you can get it). As the saying goes, "better to have it and not need it, then need it and not have it".

Can someone absolutely clarify what is needed in order to file the I-130 in Seoul?Because the list given here by some people from 2013 is:

I-130

G-325A (two- one for the immigrant and one for the petitioner)

Two passport type photos

Marriage Certificate

Family Registry--가족관계 증명서

Immigrantsí birth certificate 기본 증명서

Passport Copies- both people

Petitionerís ARC card

Is this still applicable and current? because when I emailed the embassy they referred me to the I-130 instructions which states many other documents (proof of relationship, tax, finances, etc)

Thanks!

I asked the same thing about a month ago and this was the response someone gave:

i-130appointment notice (I printed off when I made the appointment)My ARC 3 years worth of tax documents (you can print them off of irs.gov)G-325A (1 for each)Marriage Certificate with translationCopies of our passports (also take your passport)Passport pictures (2 of each of us)$420 (462,000won)I also gave them the G1145 form which requests them to email you once they process your information (it will take longer for you to get notification if you don't get it by email)

if your spouse isn't Korean then you will need their birth certificate.

For the sake of completeness, I'll add that you also need to provide a letter of certification that the translation is accurate. You can translate them yourself (or if married to a Korean they can). The letter basically just needs to say that the person who translated is fluent and the translation is correct.

The G1145 form can be filled out there. When we went (admittedly several months ago) they gave us the form at the window and we just gave it then.

Also, I don't think you need the tax transcript for the I-130, but do for the interview. Note, you cannot print them online anymore. The only thing you can do is request a copy to be mailed to you.

I went Friday to turn in my I-130 application and I wanted to update what they took from us(Korean husband):

I-130 application (i made a mistake and used my USA address not my KOREA address. So the guy took white-out to it and I fixed it there)appointment noticecopy of ARC G-325A (1 for each)Copies of our passports (looked at real passports too)Passport pictures (1 of each of us)$420 (504,000won) ***CASH**** (they don't take card. we had to leave, walk across the street to the ATM and then go back)G1145 formMarriage Certificate and translationFamily Certificate and translationBasic Certificate and translationLetter from my husband stating he translated them accurately

Can anyone confirm that the letter of accurate translation does not need to be notarized before hand? In this thread it seems that you don't need to notarize the letter if you do your own translation, but on the website it says that you need to notarize the translation if you submit the documents outside of the U.S.

I went Friday to turn in my I-130 application and I wanted to update what they took from us(Korean husband):

I-130 application (i made a mistake and used my USA address not my KOREA address. So the guy took white-out to it and I fixed it there)appointment noticecopy of ARC G-325A (1 for each)Copies of our passports (looked at real passports too)Passport pictures (1 of each of us)$420 (504,000won) ***CASH**** (they don't take card. we had to leave, walk across the street to the ATM and then go back)G1145 formMarriage Certificate and translationFamily Certificate and translationBasic Certificate and translationLetter from my husband stating he translated them accurately

He said we should hear from them in one monthFingers crossed!

Hi adrienne.light! Have your recieved your packet III yet? Just curious :) We handed ours in on the 6th, was curious about the current wait time for others that handed it around sept/ oct

There is one more thing that I am worried about, proving domicile. I have been living in Korea for several years and closed my American bank accounts/credit cards years ago (I never used them and didn't want any fee for not using them); Using American bank accounts seems like the popular way to prove domicile in the interview step. Does anyone know of any other way to prove domicile? I have been paying student loans monthly for years, and the bill is mailed to my parents address in the U.S. Has anyone heard of someone using a student loan bill to prove domicile? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.